Improvement in moulding propellers for water-meters



dinde-1I gantes .para anni.

HENRY F. READ, 'OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

team Patent No. 92,884, dazed Jury 2o, 1869.

The Schedule referred to in thse'vLetterl Patent and making part o# .the same.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HENRY F. READ, of the city of Brooklyn, in the .county of Kings, and State of New A York, have invented an Improved Mould for Casting Screw-Propellers for Meters; and I hereby declare that the following is a-full, clear, and exact vdescription thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

The nature of my invention consists in constructing 'a'mould in such a manner that la screw-propeller for meters may be cast\i`n'it, of hard rubber or other suitable material, entire in one piece, atone operation, including a female screw ineach-end.`

To enable others sk i'lledjn the art to make and use my invention, I will-proceed to'describe its construction and operation.

In the 'drawings- Figure 1 represents a vertical section ofthe capsA A', embracing the mould, with one of the spiral segment-s removed, in order to expose the interior to view, and

Figure .2, two diiierent views 0f a spiral segment detached, in order to display its peculiar form.

Figure 3 shows an end view of one`of the caps A.

Figure 4 presents a side view, on a double scale, of the mould, with one of the spiral segments, G, removed, in order to present a better view of its peculiar form.

Figure 5 presentsa cross-sectional view ofthe mould without the cap, taken through the line x i iig. 4.

Figure 6 shows a perspective view of screw-propellerwhen cast.

Figure 7 shows a different construction of the mould,

with a part of the cap broken away.

In g. 4 is shown the body of vthe mould, with one of the spiral segments, G, removed.

Its interior hollow is uniform in size from one end to Ath'e other. Upon each end is cut a malescrew, C G

C G. It is composed of severalv different parts. The sections from j to j, and from i to i', 'are collars J and J', which are made fast to the main bodyby means of the screws f1 Each of these sections is made with a' flange, n, extending inward from its inner edge,t0 act as a guide and support to the spiral segments while the'screws are being screwed into them.

The form of these segments is shown in figs. 2 and 4.

Each one has a female screw in cach end.

The holes g do not'extend through, but only a suiiicient depth for the insertion of a suitable tool by which to remove the segments when the cast is made.

The spiralslots E are formed by cutting away equal portions of adjacent segments, and all are to be as nearly of the same form and capacity as practicable, for these slots are to give form to the wings E of 'the screw-propeller, shown in iig. 6.

When these segments are fittedtogether' upon the collars, and the screws fare driven home, itis ready' for the caps A and A', and the devices seated in them, respectively.

It will appear, from iig. 1, that the cap A is pro-1 vided, in the interior of its main opening, with a female screw, to fit the male thread on the end ofthe mould, and that above the end of the mould the diameterof theopeuing is suddenly reduced, and after continuing at the 'reduced diameter, it is again'- reduced, and so continues to the-end, and that the plunger K, from j upward, has a corresponding formation, so thatit may be moved downward, but not upward, and the part extendsvinto the interior of the 1noulds,.and its end is made concave, so as to give the convex form on the large end r ofthe body vofithe propeller, as shown in fig; 6, and its interior is recessed, to t the shoulder on the steel mandrel-I, so that `the mandrel maymove downward, but not upward, when" 'once infposition:

The lower'end of the mandrelis provided with a malescrew thread, p, y upon which is formed the female screw p', in the large end of the screw-propeller. l

When these parts are in position, the cap A is screwed upon the upper end of the'mould.

The cap A is also provided with a female screw, so

vas to screw over the lower end of the mould, and its plungeris so formed that it will play upward, but not downward, and its lower end is formed with amalescrew thread, over which a nut is to be screwed, and the bore inthe interior of the plunger has the form indicated by F in iig. 1, to fit over the steel shaft F in iig. 6, and at the upper end is gradually enlarged, as shown by the dotted lilies d d', iig. 1, forming aconical recess to mould the conical portion of the.' screwpropeller, as shown in g. 6.

WVhen the cap A is provided with the described parts, it is screwed upon the lower end of the mould, and ready for use.

The upper end of the shaft- F may be provided with a male-screw thread, so. that a female screw may be formed upon it, and the shaft screwed into the body of the propeller.

The female screw in the large end is made for the reception of a bushing, -to holdin position an agate or other hard substance, to' receive the pivot on which the propeller revolves. hen all the parts are complete, the cap A, with its plunger and mandrel, is removed, and a proper quantity of the prepared rubber inserted inthe mould through the upper opening, and then the cap A', with its parts before mentioned, is screwed down over the mould, and in so doing, the rubber is forced out into the slots E', and'into the conical portion vof the lower plunger, and is cast in' the form shown in iig. 6. It may be afterward hardened by any of the processes .now in use.

In iig. 7, where a different construction is shown, the cap H encloses the entire mould.

The spiral segments G G are cut oii at S S, corresponfling to the line a: y in fig. 4, and C' represents the female screw in the interior of cap H, while C" is a collar with a male-screw thread upon it, to fit the fem'ale screw in the cap H, and contains the plunger and steel mandrel contained in the cap A'. When it is removed, the rubber is introduced into the mould, and then the collar C" is screwed down, and the cast is made, after which it is screwed out, and the screw-propeller may be, by the requisite draught on the wings and body, forced ont of the mould from below.

The manufacture of both body and wings ot' screwpropellers of rubber, and in one piece, by casting in a mould, is deemed an improvement ot' great value, since the rubber, when vulcanized, is very light and strong.

A propeller made of this material, because of its lightness, will revolve upon the slightest 'action of the passing tluid, and will thus indicate with the greatest accuracy.

The vulcanized rubber, While very strong, is yet slightly elastic, so that if sprung out of form by any extraordinary force, it will, when that pressure is removed, resume itsV original shape without breaking, as cast-metal would not do.

It is not acted upon chemically by water, so that it does not render the water impure, and retains its polish, so that it will not become loaded and clog red with dirt and sand, which would increase its weight, roughen its surface, and thus render its indications untrue.

Screw-propellers for meters have heretofore been constructed, generally, of metal, each wing and the body in separate pieces, and the'wing soldered upon the body with some soft metal, and are much heavier than those made ot' rubber, and not, therefore, nearly so sensitive to the action ofthe fluid, and, of course, are liable to spring out of shape, and be torn olf by centrifugal force, so that much labor and expense are necessary to keep them repaired and in true form.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. 'Ihe hollow cylindrical metallicmould, formed by spiral segi'nents G G, and leaving.)r spiral openings E E between said segments, constructed substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. The collars J and J', in combination with the spiral segments G G and the screws ff, whereby said parts are securely fastened in position, constructed substantially as and for the purpose described. 3. The opening -E E between the segments, in which the wings of the propeller are moulded, when constructed substantially as and for the purpose described.

4. The cap H, holding the body of the mould, and

l i securely covering the several spiral segments and openings, constructed substantially as and for the purpose described.

5. So forming the mould for casting spiral propel- 1ers, that by removing the capat one end, the thing cast may be drawn from the mould by being turned upon the same spiral pitch, as shown in iig. 7, substantially as described. l

6. The caps A and A', iu combination with the plungers K and K', for holding the mandrel and shaft in position, and forcing the .material to be moulded into every part of the mould, constructed and arranged substantially as described.

7. The steel mandrel I, with its male-screwtbread, upon which is formed the female screw p', iu the body ofthe propeller, in combination with the plungers 1i K and collars J J as set forth.

8. The screw-propeller, as shown in fig. (i, when ymade in metallic moulds, substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth, as a new article ot' m'anufacture.

NVitnesses:

A. M. S'rou'r, J. J. BURR.

H. F. READ. 

